Saxophones A'Plenty (Part Two) – Three Quartets

This post features three quartets led by tenor saxophonists who double on other reeds, two that  have the same type of lineup –– saxophone, piano, bass, and drums (same drummer on both albums) –– and one that substitutes guitar for piano.

Photo: Dave Stapleton

Chris Potter signed with Edition Records in 2019 and each one of his five releases show a different side.  Last year's "Got the Keys to the Kingdom" was recorded live at The Village Vanguard and featured Potter with Craig Taborn (piano), Scott Colley (bass), and Marcus Gilmore (drums).  His latest album, "Eagle's Point", is also a quartet date but with a totally different lineup –– Brad Mehldau (piano), John Patitucci (bass), and Brian Blade (drums). Just seeing those names should be enough to make one purchase the album or, at the very least, listen to it.  You should because it's good music and great fun.

"Dream of Home" gently opens the eight-song program but as soon as the leader begins to solo, the proceedings heat up. The bassist and drummer spent two+ decades with Wayne Shorter's last Quartet and they absolutely know how to support, how to push the soloists, and how much to add.  Patitucci's handsome bass opening (such a lovely tone!) leads the band into "Cloud Message". Potter's tenor playing so assured, his notes so articulate even as he flies through a solo. Throughout the album, Mehldau not only plays with authority (is that Bud Powell showing through on his solos) but also his comping is so delightfully post-bop.  Listen below to the title track –– the music is playful, slightly funky (check out the song's chorus), and the rhythm section is so "tight yet loose".  

Photo montage: Dave Stapleton

Among the the highlights is the African-influenced tune "Indigo IIdiko" which finds the leader on bass clarinet. There's such a melodious feel to Potter's tone as well as splendid solos by Patitucci and Mehldau with the latter reminding this listener of Keith Jarrett's work with the Charles Lloyd Quartet.  Potter switches to tenor sax for his solo which moves the piece more towards the mainstream.  "Aria for Anna" finds Potter on soprano sax where his lovely tone is perfect for the ballad where the only other instrument for 2/3rds of the song is the piano.  Mehldau, one of the best at painting pictures through melody, is the perfect match for the leader's soaring solo. It's easy to miss the bass and drums when they enter but they add just the right colors.

The album closes with "Horizon Dance", a piece with rhythms that incorporate South American influences.  The bassist is at his best here interacting with the saxophonist, playing off his riffs while the drummer gleefully dances. Mehldau keeps up the heat with his own spicy solo. Blade gets a moment to "strut his stuff" before the Quartet returns to the opening theme to close the program.

"Eagle's Point" is yet another feather in the expansive cap that is the career of Chris Potter. The majority of the music and musicianship exudes joy with nary a false note.  Listen up! Good music is infectious.

For more information, go to www.chrispottermusic.com/. To purchase the album, go to  https://chrispotterjazz.bandcamp.com/album/eagles-point. 

Here's the title track:

I am a long-time fan of the music of Charles Lloyd; he rarely disappoints with his music. While I receive many recordings to review from publicists, Blue Note releases rarely show up so I buy them. Once I heard tracks from Mr. Lloyd's new album, there was no way I could ignore the music.  The 15-song, 91-minute album, features a quartet with veteran Jason Moran (piano), Larry Grenadier (bass), and newcomer Brian Blade (drums) 

"The Sky Will Be There Tomorrow" is the 86-year old Lloyd's 51st album and first studio date since 2017.  He's always favored the quartet setting although he's been more adventurous with lineups since joining Blue Note nearly a decade ago. The energy that emanates from this recording is powerfully positive whether the music is meditative (as on the opening "Defiant, Tender Warrior" or the ballad "The Ghost of Lady Day"), fiery (as on the tenor-piano take of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" where the duo take the piece "out" is a flurry of Gospel chords) or rhythmically adventurous (as on the flute-driven "Booker's Garden" and the playful "Monk's Dance"). Listen below to the last track listed in the previous sentence. After a powerfully rollicking intro by Moran, the rest of the band enters and the piece takes off.  Blade certainly can swing while Grenadier is both melodic and pulsating.

One should listen to this album in its entirety each time. There are so many masterful moments.  The fire that Mr. Lloyd creates in his sparring with Blade and then Moran on the opening several minutes of the title track is one as is the piano solo on the same track. The beauty and open feeling of "Balm in Gilead" is lovely as is the long, exploratory, gentle "Cape to Cairo" near the close of Side 4 or disc 2.  

By the time you reach the final track, "Defiant Reprise; Homeward Dove", the music should have changed you. Here are four master musicians led by a person who moved from his hometown, Memphis TN, to Los Angeles in 1956, starting a career that has spanned nearly seven decades, a musician who has recorded numerous standout recordings with musicians from around the world.  Listen closely, listen deeply –– the rewards are endless!

For more information, go to https://charleslloyd.com/.  The link to his music is there as well as his 2024 tour schedule and more.

Here's "Monk's Dance":

Photo: William Brown

Saxophonist and composer Dayna Stephens has a new Quartet and a new album.  Since his 2015 kidney transplant, Stephens has issued five albums as a leader, a fusion album underneath the name of Pluto Juice, and appeared as a sideman on numerous albums including releases by Linda May Han Oh, Johannes Wallman, Massimo Biolcati, and Ethan Iverson & the Umbria Jazz Orchestra (among others).  It's easy to understand why he's so popular as his sound on tenor is full but never over-blown, his soprano playing is melodic and not shrill, and his ever-maturing work on EWI humanizes the electronic instrument.

For his new "working" ensemble, the atmospheric sounds of young guitarist Emmanuel Michael (born in South Dakota to Ugandan and South Sudanese parents) stand out alongside the rhythm section of Kanoa Mendenhall (bass), and Jongkuk Kim (drums). Stephens first met the guitarist in 2022 when Michael was a student at Manhattan School of Music and a member of his ensemble. This ensemble went into a New York City studio in May of 2023 and recorded "Closer Than You Think", Stephens' first album for Cory Weeds Cellar Live Records.  It's Michael's sweet guitar one hears first as it leads the band in on his composition  "Bubbly".  Listen below to how easily the rhythm section creates a flow for the leader's tenor sax and the guitar.  This is one of several times on the 11-song program that this music is reminiscent of the collaboration of Charles Lloyd with guitarist John Abercrombie.  

Photo: William Brown

Like Mr. Lloyd, this music often has an "open" feel.  The way that Ms. Mendenhall and Kim move under the music allows both the leader and guitarist to go on lengthy solo journeys.  "The Nomad" (the first of three pieces composed by Stephens) is a delightful sonic experience –– just sit back and get lost in the music. "Scrutiny" (another of Stephens' pieces) is more frenetic pushed hard by Kim's powerful drumming.  Wayne Shorter's "E.S.P." adds producer Jeremy Pelt's trumpet to the Quartet. The funky undertow allows the soloists to move freely around the melody with Michael's guitar work raising the temperature of the music.  The guitarist's other composition, "Placate", may remind some of songs by Bill Frisell, especially the work he created alongside Joe Lovano and the late Paul Motian –– Stephens' solo has a gentle quality as it moves effortlessly over the rhythm section and guitar counterpoint.

Near the close of the program, the band plays pianist Julian Shore's gentle bossa-nova "Back Home".  It's here that the leader switches to EWI; before his enchanting solo, bassist Mendenhall creates a melodic solo of his own with Michael's finger-picked acoustic guitar moving dancing beneath him.  The program ends with "Placate (reprise)", first a duet for guitar and bass, closing with Stephens' tenor leading the way to a gentle finish.

The more I listen to "Closer Than We Think", the more I enjoy the interactions of the quartet, the breadth of the material (including pieces by pianist David Berkman and Ms. Mendenhall's appealing "Te" with the leader on soprano sax), and how it's easy to fall under its spell.  Dayna Stephens continues his growth as a musician and interpreter as well as very good judge of talent.  Get lost in these grooves – you will better for the adventure!

 

For more information, go to www.daynastephens.net/. To hear more and to buy the album, go to  https://daynastephens.bandcamp.com/album/closer-than-we-think. 

Here's the opening track, "Bubbly":

Good Friends, Great Music

Photo: Laura Desberg

Vocalist and composer Gretchen Parlato first met guitarist and composer Lionel Loueke in 2001 while both were studying at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz in Los Angeles, CA (renamed for Herbie Hancock in 2019). Both moved to New York City several years later, both were signed to ObliqSounds Records with Loueke playing on Ms. Parlato's first two albums––she returned the favor by singing on his 2006 "Virgin Forest" recording (his debut, "In a Trance", was self-released in 2005).  She also sings on Loueke's 2012 Blue Note album "Heritage".  When the COVID pandemic reared its ugly heads, the two artists began trading ideas, song fragments, and more from their home studios (Ms. Parlato lives in Los Angeles with her husband, drummer Mark Guiliana, and their son Marley while Loueke and his family live in Luxembourg.). They convened in LA in March of 2022 and, over three days, produced their first full album as a duo.

The results can be heard on "Lean In" (Edition Records), an intimate yet rhythmic journey that captures both the fears of the shutdown and the liberating power of music.  From the opening seconds of Loueke's "Akwê" (first recorded by the guitarist in 2005 with the cooperative trio Gilfema), it's a bouncy piece with rapid-fire vocal breaks, the guitarist's crisp acoustic guitar work and mouth clicks, and a distinct connection to the music of West Africa. That's followed by Ms. Parlato's lovely rearrangement of "I Miss You", a Top 10 tune by Klymaxx from 1984. Later in the program, Ms. Parlato returns to one of the first Brazilian songs she ever learned, "Astronauta"––composed by Carlos Pingarilho and Marcos Vasconcellos, the gentle samba was first recorded by Os Cariocas in 1966. The duo give the piece a lovely, Joāo Gilberto feel with just voice, acoustic guitar, and overdubbed electric guitar.  

Photo: Lauren Desberg

"Nonvignon", a Loueke original that both artists recorded for their 2005 debuts, is reprised here.  The title translates to "good brother" and the duo have so much with the rhythm of the piece which can here in both vocals, the handclaps, and the sweet sounds of the guitars.  The music reminds this listener of Paul Simon's "Spirit Voices" from his 1990 album "The Rhythm of the Saints".  That's Mr. Simon's "Brazilian" album and one can hear the influence of the Black slaves who were transported to South America, who brought their customs, foods, music, and more.  Listen below!

There are three short pieces included in the 12-song program. "Okagbé", the first one, features voices, guitar, balafon, and kalimba while "Mi Wa Se" features Marley Guiliana on vocals plus his dad on percussion, bassist Burniss Travis, and the guitarist who adds a quick vocal in the final 10 seconds of the piece that only lasts 58 seconds.  The final piece, "Dow Wé Interlude", has both vocalists repeating a short phrase while Loueke jams with Travis and Guiliana on drums this time.  That short tune leads into the album's final track, "Walking After You".  Composed by Dave Grohl for Foo Fighters' "The Colour and The Shape" (issued in 1997), the piece is a lovely ballad.  Ms. Parlato and Loueke speed up the song a bit yet the intimacy of the lyrics are not compromised. With several layers of guitars, hand-held percussion (Mark Guiliana's drums enter close to the fade), and gentle background vocals (including Marley also joining in the last minute), the song is a reminder of our need for community as well as music in dark times.  

"Lean In" is a gem of an album, music to listen as you walk on the beach or through the woods, when you are sitting on your porch or lying in bed at night with windows open. Besides the excellent musicianship on and the superb sounds of this recording, I am impressed how Gretchen Parlato and Lionel Loueke combine their voices when they sing in unison and when they weave counterpoint beneath the lead. They'll be touring the US and Canada this Summer and have already scheduled a tour for the Fall.  Go see and hear them! Buy this record!

For more information about the artists, go to https://gretchenparlato.com/ and www.lionellouekemusic.com/.  To listen to more and to purchase "Lean In", go to 

https://gretchenparlato.bandcamp.com/album/lean-in?label=1589780338&tab=music. 

Listen to "Nonvignon": 

To Listen is to Wonder, To Dream

 

Photo: Dave Stapleton

Ben Wendel, born in British Columbia, raised in Los Angeles, and now living in Brooklyn NY, is a multi-faceted musician. He plays tenor and soprano saxophones, bassoon, synths, and percussion, composes, arranges, produces, and more. He was founding member of the instrumental ensemble Kneebody and he has worked with artists such as Snoop Dogg, Linda May Han Oh, Eric Harland, Prince, and many others.  He's issued eight albums as a leader plus produced sessions for Gerald Clayton, Dan Tepfer, and Dave Cook.  Wendel has played on sessions led by Moonchild, keyboardist Tigran Hamasyan, percussionist Adam Rudolph, and pianist Taylor Eigsti (among others).  He currently is adjunct faculty at the New School in New York City and conducts masterclasses around North America.  His recordings cover a plethora of styles from from jazz-fusion to "straight-ahead" to exploratory but with an ear towards strong melodic lines.

His new album "All One" is Wendel's second for Edition Records––it's basically a solo album with guests but what a lineup. The six-program song opens with "I Loves You Porgy".  The Ira & George Gershwin classic from "Porgy and Bess" features Wendel on saxes, bassoon, and synth bass supporting Cécile McLorin Salvant whose emotionally stunning vocal stands out.  His arrangement for the reed orchestra (all parts played by Wendel) is a delight from start to finish. Later in the program, Jose Jamés inhabits "Tenderly" (music by Walter Gross, lyrics by Jack Lawrence)––the 1946 tune has been recorded by Sarah Vaughan, Rosemary Clooney, Nat "King" Cole, Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald, Eric Dolphy, and many others. Wendel's arrangement is stunning not only when the reeds support the voice but how he "paints" the background behing the handsome tenor sax solo.   

Photo: Dave Stapleton

Trumpeter Terence Blanchard joins Wendel for the powerful and wide-ranging "Wanderers" (composed by the leader: listen below)––the orchestral arrangement reminds this listener of Julius Hemphill but note how the piece "opens" in the middle and takes on the feel of a progressive big band. Guitarist Bill Frisell leads the reeds through the handsome aural-scape of his piece "Throughout".  Wendel's arrangement creates layers of sound, some in the front of the mix, others farther back plus the cushion he creates for the guitarist is quite lovely.  Ther Wendel original "Speak Joy" opens with synth bass, bassoons murmuring in both speakers, the lovely flute sounds of Elena Pinderhughes moving the melody forward.  Lower tones dominate the background for the flute and soprano sax solos; there's a splendid moment when the two lead instruments unite and play the melody in unison as overdubbed flutes and saxes swirl behind them.

"All One" closes with the third of three Wendel originals, the atmospheric "In Anima".  Here, the acoustic piano of Tigran Hamasyan joins the synths to create a melancholic and trance-like background for a tenor sax (with effects) solo that threatens to veer off. That leads to a piano solo that builds off the rhythmic pattern and sets the stage for a return to the original melody. Now, it's played by bassoons that are joined by the tenor sax which then steps forward to bring the piece and the album to its gentle close.

"All One" is Ben Wendel's "pandemic" album. Recorded over a period of 18 months (between the Fall of 2020 through March 2022), some artists remotely at home, others in studios, the music never sounds stiff or overly arranged but it's also not a series of jams.  Each track stands out yet the "through-line" is that continued creative endeavors can survive and thrive in the face of an uncertain future. At times playful, other times quite serious, there is tenderness, resolve, joy, love, and even ferocity that makes the listener dig in for repeated listenings. Highly recommended!

For more information about Ben Wendel, go to www.benwendel.com. To hear and to purchase the album, go to https://benwendel.bandcamp.com/album/all-one. 

Hear "Wanderers" with Terence Blanchard:

Musical Treats for February

 What a joy to be surrounded with such great music––here are two of the more delightful releases of 2023! 

Photo: Erika Kapin

Australian-born vocalist Jo Lawry may be best known for working with Sting, Paul Simon, Fred Hersch, and Peter Gabriel but she's been recording her own albums for the past 15 years.  She spent nearly two decades living, working, and teaching in New York City (her teaching appointments were at the Manhattan School of Music and at the Boston-based New England Conservatory).  Ms. Lawry, who is married to saxophonist Will Vinson, moved back to Australia  in 2021 to lead the Equity in Jazz program at Sydney Conservatorium of Music, a program designed to encourage and support women and gender diverse musicians into a career in jazz through dedicated leadership, music development and mentorship.   She's released three albums as a leader with the most recent being 2018's "The Bathtub and The Sea." 

For her latest venture, "Acrobats" (Whirlwind Recordings), Ms. Lawry joins forces with bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Allison Miller to create a fascinating program that ranges from standards to two special pieces either written by an Australian composer (the title track comes from the pen of Gian Slater) or made a big hit on the Aussie scene (John Farnham's anthemic "You're the Voice").  Don't be put off by the spare instrumentation as the music is so intimate, delightful, emotional and adventurous that the 43-minute goes by way too quickly.  When you listen to this music, you'll hear how melodic all three artists.  Both Ms. Han Oh and Ms. Miller certainly know how to swing; right from the voice/bass opening moments of the opening track, Frank Loesser's "Traveling Light" (from "Guys and Dolls", one hears the delightful give-and-take of Ms. Lawry with the rhythm section.

Photo: Erika Kapin

The title track (listen below) illustrates Ms. Miller's splendid hand drumming as well as why Ms. Han Oh is a first-call bassist as she supplies both counterpoint and rhythmic support.  Dig the delightful the voice/drums duo on Cole Porter's "You're The Top"; taken at a breakneck pace, the vocalist dances atop the rapid-fire brush work.  Later in the program, Ms. Han Oh and Ms. Lawry take a delightful stroll through Al Hoffman and Dick Manning's "Takes Two to Tango" (first made famous in 1952 in separate versions by Pearl Bailey and Louis Armstrong).  This version is slower and slinkier than the two versions from seven decades ago yet retains the humor and sassiness that the lyrics embody.

There is nary a weak track on "Acrobats".  While her previous album tilted towards folk and pop, it's really great to hear Jo Lawry as a jazz singer (her scat feature on Lennie Tristano's "317 East 32nd Street" is a treat as is the sparkling bass solo).  Adding Linda May Han Oh and Allison Miller to this project is a stroke of genius––you'll not hear a better trio album this year!!

For more information, go to www.whirlwindrecordings.com/release-day-acrobats-by-jo-lawry-out-now/ and to www.jolawry.net/media.  To hear more and to purchase the album, go to https://jolawry-whirlwind.bandcamp.com/album/acrobats.

Let's hear the album's title track:

For his third album on Edition Records, tenor saxophonist Chris Potter recorded several nights of his February 2022 gig at the legendary Village Vanguard.  Six songs from the multi-night engagement make up the program for "Got The Keys to the Kingdom: Live at The Village Vanguard." For the gig, Potter put together an ensemble featuring Craig Taborn (piano), Scott Colley (bass), and Marcus Gilmore (drums).  The set is bookended by two long blues/gospel tunes with the first being Mississippi Fred McDowell's "You Gotta Move."  The leader goes it along for the first 30 seconds then introduces the blues groove that the rest of the ensemble picks up on.  They run the first three verses with Potter adding more energy each time until they break into a short bridge and the saxophone solo commences.  It's a tour-de-force, filled with ideas and turns-of-phrases, reminiscent of a Sonny Rollins-like playfulness. Taborn is next and he digs into the song's blues groove.  After a quick return to the theme, Gilmore gets the spotlight and, with the help of Colley's short background figure, kicks the heck out of his drums.

Besides the blues, there are two tracks with Brazilian roots, the handsome folk tune "Nazani Na" (transcribed by Heitor Villa-Lobos and Edgar Roquette-Pinto from an Amazonian Indian folk tune) and "Olha Maria", composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chico Buarque, and Vinicius De Moraes).  The latter piece opens as a nearly-three minute conversation for Potter and Colley before the pianist and drummer enter.  There is also a lovely take on Billy Strayhorn's "Blood Count", a piece he composed in the hospital awaiting treatment for esophageal cancer that would claim his life several months later. When recorded by the Ellington Orchestra, the solo on the piece was poignantly played by Johnny Hodges. Here, the quartet not only interprets the distress of the composer's condition but his fight as well.  It's quite a beautiful piece.  That's followed by Charlie Parker's "Klactoveedsestene", a jaunty dance for all involved.  

The album closes with the title track, a gospel tune first recorded by Washington Phillips in 1929.  Again, I hear the influence of Sonny Rollins in the rollicking rhythms, the playful interactions of the group, and Potter's powerful solo.  Gilmore and Colley push him hard while Taborn feeds him aggressive chords.  The pianist gets the next solo, dancing, strutting, bouncing, feeding off the lively bass and drums. A return to the opening theme then Gilmore begins his magnificent 3:30 solo that reaches its climax with the audience roaring its approval. The entire quartet takes the piece out on that high-energy level.  

"Got The Keys to the Kingdom" is a delight from start to finish. If you love high-energy creative, the album has numerous examples. If you need a heartfelt ballad that explores many emotions, that's here as well. Rhythmic adventures? Yes! Great solos? Yes!  Chris Potter and his excellent ensemble shine throughout–don't miss this splendid live album! 

For more information, go to https://editionrecords.com/releases/chris-potter-got-the-keys-to-the-kingdom-live-at-the-village-vanguard/.  To hear more and purchase the album, go to  https://chrispotterjazz.bandcamp.com/album/got-the-keys-to-the-kingdom-live-at-the-village-vanguard.

Here's Chris and the band on Charlie Parker's "Klactoveedsedstene":

Two Drummers Who Lead, Think, Tell Stories, and Play

Photo: Jim Levitt

Ernesto Cervini is a multi-faceted person; not only does he play drums, piano, and clarinet but he also arranges, composes, is a publicist for numerous Canadian artists plus he teaches.  And, apparently is an avid reader. His sister Amy (she of Duchess trio and solo albums) recommended he read the books of Louise Penny, the Canadian author best known for her series of mystery novels featuring the detective inspector Armand Gamache where much of the action is set in the fictional village of Three Pines, Quebec.  Each one of the characters is finely drawn, their stories are often riveting, and the hero, while somewhat flawed, is wise and quite intelligent.

Cervini, the composer, was much taken by the series (up to 18 books now with the November 2022 publication of "A World of Curiosities") and decided to put his impressions into music. The result, "Joy" (TPR Music), is a fascinating melting pot of styles as the drummer creates portraits of the major characters utilizing 16  musician and vocalists (see the list below), some of who only appear on one tracks, others as many as seven.  The programs ranges from the impressionistic opening track, "Three Pines", a work that features three vocalists and atmospheric guitar over acoustic bass and drums to the slow blues of "Myrna" that features the smoky tenor saxophone of Kelly Jefferson and the fine acoustic bass of Artie Roth.  Pianist Adrian Farrugia, bassist Dan Fortin, and Cervini shine on "Sandalwood and Rosewater" (if one gets close to Gamache, that's what they smell). Then there's the quirky blues of "Ruth's Rosa" (Ruth is a poet, Rosa is her profane duck), a tune on which clarinetist Virginia Macdonald plays the former and trumpeter Jim Lewis the latter while Cervini creates clatter underneath their call-and-response.  Even more fun is the "hot" swing of "Surprised by Joy" (listen below) with its thematic bow to Keith Jarrett's "The Windup" and smashing solos by Farrugia and Jefferson!

Photo: Justin Van Leeuwen

There are two solo performances in the program. First is "Clara", a villager who is an artist and she is aurally "painted" by alto saxophonist Tara Davidson and the second is Farrugia's solo piano portrait of the artist's husband "Peter Morrow". These characters  have a troubled relationship and one can hear a touch of dissonance in their musical portraits.  In another portrait, Cervini's lively brush work supports Ms. Davidson and her husband, trombonist William Carn, as they create a genial portrait of "Oliver & Gabri", the owners of the village's Bistro and Bed & Breakfast.  

If you haven't read the books, you should still seek out "Joy"; the music is lively, heartwarming, tender, swinging, mysterious, and filled with fine melodies and great performances.  Ernesto Cervini, who is a fine drummer, shows off his "composerly" side and it works like a charm.  As a fan of Ms. Penny's book series, I'm delighted with this excellent collection of portraits of characters I've come to admire and look forward to reading about!

For more information, go to https://ernestocervini.com/. To purchase the album, go to  https://ernestocervini.bandcamp.com/album/joy. 

. 

Here's the opening track "Three Pines":
 

Felicity Williams , Emilie-Claire Barlow, Amy Cervini, Alex Samaras  - Vocals, 

Virginia MacDonald – Clarinet, Tara Davidson – Alto Saxophone, Luis Deniz – Alto Saxophone, Kelly Jefferson - Tenor, Soprano Saxophones, 

Jim Lewis – Trumpet, William Carn – Trombone, 

Adrean Farrugia – Piano,

Don Scott – Guitar, 

Dan Fortin - Acoustic Bass, Artie Roth - Acoustic Bass, Rich Brown - Electric Bass,

EC – Drums, compositions, arrangements

Drummer-composer Mark Guiliana wears many hats as a musician including leader, sideman, composer, arranger, and collaborator.  He's worked with David Bowie, Brad Mehldau, Dave Douglas, Donny McCaslin, Lionel Loueke, and Gretchen Parlato among others.  Over the course of nine albums as a leader, he's integrated electronics with acoustic music, created dance music , and played straight-ahead jazz.  His 10th album, and first for Edition Records, is "The Sound of Listening" and features his "jazz" quartet composed of Shai Maestro (piano, mellotron, ampli-celeste, Fender Rhodes), Jason Rigby (tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, flute), and Chris Morrissey (acoustic bass) while the leader not only plays drums and composed all the pieces but also contributes synths, percussion, and drum programming.

Guiliana the composer asks the listener to look inside him-or-herself and to really think and feel how music can move you, can make you a better person, and even heal you. The program opens with "A Path To Bliss", a lovely ballad introduced by Maestro's acoustic piano and electronics; slowly but surely, the bass and tenor sax enter and the melody continues to rise until Rigby plays a short solo on bass clarinet.  The layers of reeds and keys soon are underpinned by Guiliana dancing over the drums and cymbals. That powerful piece leads to "The Most Important Question" which opens on a tenor and a bass pedal point. The piano joins the melody before the bassist steps out for a short statement. The music speeds up but keeps fluctuating to different voices in the lead. The intensity draws the listener in as do the insistent rhythms. 

Photo: John Watson

Interspersed amidst the 10 songs are four shorter  compositions, two of which are fully "electronic" pieces, the longest (2:37) being the title track. One of the other short works, "A Way of Looking", blends acoustic and electronic sounds yet it's the handsome melody that catches your ears. One of the other "shorties", "Practicing Silence", has a loping bass line played on piano while Maestro and Morrissey play the gentle yet compelling melody. 

The program closes with "Continuation", an African-inspired work that builds off of shaken percussion and prepared piano (that sounds like kalimba).   All the members of the group get to play the melody, the sensuous phrases snaking over the galloping rhythms.  All of a sudden, Maestro's piano steps out front (the solo sounds overdubbed)––Rigby comes back to state the melody before everyone drops out and the percussion takes the piece and the album to its conclusion. What remains in your mind is just how joyful a piece of music you just heard.  

"The Sound of Listening" draws you in on its blend of rhythm, melody, and emotions.  Mark Guiliana and company mix it up and keeps one's interest throughout.   Dig in and really listen!

For more information, go to www.markguiliana.com/.  To hear more and to purchase the album, go to  https://markguiliana.bandcamp.com/album/the-sound-of-listening.

Hear "Under The Influence":

Sounds in Our Head

Photo: Dave Stapleton

The duo of Sachal Vasandani (voice) and Romain Collin (piano) issued their first album "Midnight Shelter" (Edition Records) in Spring 2021––it seemed the perfect escape during pandemic times. Not because it was "escapist entertainment" but because of how made the listeners feel the various emotions one has in contemplation. Perhaps it was Vasandani's unadorned vocals or Collin's clear, clean, accompaniment, maybe because the duo took music from folk, rock, and elsewhere, unifying them in sound and delivery so the listener could hear and feel the words.  There was no improvisation, no feats of vocal techniques, just pure, clean, song. When you think about it, that's a gift but also a return to balladry.  Not sure I was ready for the intimacy of the first album; at the time, the world was sick from worry about COVID-19, scared of the variants, and tired of being cooped up, I just wanted to sit with my friends, see my family, go to a concert and not watch it on a computer screen or television in 2-D but feel music coursing through my body and others, a communal experience.
 

Just over a year later comes "Still Life", the duo's second adventure for Edition.  It would be easy to write that this is more of the same but only on the surface. There is still the excellent choice of material; the smashing choices of Elizabeth Cotton's "Freight Train", the timeless Paul Simon's musical warning "The Sound of Silence", and Ray Reid's "I Can't Make You Love You" (arguably the best song ever composed by a ex-football player––former Cincinnati Bengal Reid with Allen Shamblin) are among the immediate standouts. There are three original songs worth your attention. The album opens with Vasandani's "No More Tears" which at the onset has the urgency of a Robert Johnson blues tune and then turns into a subtly powerful jazz tune.  "Someone Somewhere" comes from a collaboration between the vocalist and drummer Nate Smith, a down-tempo ballad where the piano chords seem to float below and around the words.  "How Could We Be" is a lament composed by Collin; while there is an urgency in the piano chords, the vocal is gentle, soft, pleading without begging.  

Photo: Dave Stapleton

The duo do a smashing rearrangement of "Latch", a 2012 song by the British electronica duo Disclosure that featured Sam Smith.  The spare piano work captures the gentle funkiness of the track but it's Vasandani's impressive falsetto that stands out.  James Bay 2014 "Let It Go" is a heartfelt ballad; Vasandani's sweet vocal approach brings out the heartbreak in the lyrics. 

The album closes with Peter Gabriel's "Washing of the Water" from 1992's "Us"––this duo version captures the gospel/soul feel of the original as well as the despair the singer has of the breakup the song describes.  A brilliant close to a splendid program.  "Still Life", the title, can be understood in different ways such as to describe an image in a painting or photograph, it can describe a person going through each the motions each day, and, to me, it's a response to after all the bad and good that befall us, our families, friends, the world, life goes on. Sachal Vasandani and Romain Collin have created an album that takes in the despair created by the pandemic and soothes our fevered brows with their gentle musical balm.  

For more information, go to www.sachalvasandani.com.  To hear more and to purchase the album, go to https://sachalvasandani.bandcamp.com/.

Hear the Billie Eilish/Finnish tune "I Love You":

What I'm Listening To (2)

 I continue my journey through the new releases of 2022.

Guitarist and composer Gilad Hekselman started work on his new recording (his debut on Edition Records) just as the world was shutting down in March 2020.  Slowly but surely, the guitarist learned the process of "self-recording" as well as "distance" recording, building the songs layer by layer.  He moved back to New York City in December 2020 and continued the process for another six months.  The results can be heard on "Far Star"––you can't help but notice that the results are more joyful than introspective, the songs steeped in melody and rhythmic excitement.

The eight-song program opens with "Long Way From Home"; introduced by Hekselman whistling the melody, special guest Eric Harland jumps right in and the song takes off. The leader overdubs keys and bass but the focal point is the interaction between the guitar and drums.  The drummer appears on four other tracks including the hard-edged "Magic Chord" (which you can hear below) and "Fast Moving Century", a romp that features the keyboard work of Shai Maestro as well as a fiery guitar solo from Hekselman.  The title track is a sensitive ballad/ playful romp featuring the violin and viola work of Nathan Schram plus the fine rhythm section play of Oren Hardy (bass) and fellow Israeli Alon Benjamini on drums and percussion.  "The Headrocker" is actually a funky ditty enlivened by a hummable (or whistle-able) melody and the bright keyboard work of Nomok and percussionist Amir Bresler (two more Israeli-born artists).

The album closes with the guitar-drums duo (with overdubs)––this time, Hekselman shares the studio with Ziv Ravitz.  While the guitarist sticks to his more melodic side, Ravitz dances and cavorts, every once in a while returning to a more straight-forward role. Instead of bringing the program full-circle, the track continues the guitarist's search for new ways to connect traditional melody with different rhythms.

Now 10 albums as a leader into his career, Gilad Hekselman has continued to mature as a composer and musician. "Far Star" has much to offer the curious listener. 

For more information, go to www.giladhekselman.com.  To hear more and to buy the album, go to  to https://giladhekselman.bandcamp.com/album/far-star. 

Hear "Magic Chord" featuring Eric Harland:

Photo: Lauren Desberg

The trio of Jeremy Siskind (piano, compositions), Nancy Harms (vocals), and Lucas Pino (tenor saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet) came together a decade ago as the Housewarming Project. The ensemble's goal was to introduce "accessible art music to audiences through in-home concerts" (from 

jeremysiskind.com/housewarming-project/) and they succeeded playing over 150 concerts and an on-line series of YouTube videos before the pandemic shut them down.  Yet, the cessation of concerts plus a 2020 New Jazz Works grant from Chamber Music America gave Siskind the opportunity to create an original program for the ensemble.

"Songs of Rebirth" (Outside In Music) is credited to Mr. Siskind with Ms. Harms and Mr. Pino; not the Housewarming Project because the two-CD, 22-song program was created and recorded during the Lockdown. Separated into two thematically-linked groups of tunes, Disk 1 is subtitled "True Believers" because the majority of the 12 pieces talks about positive changes created by the forced slowdown. Disk 2, or "Cynics and Snags", is comprised of "darker" tunes. Still, Siskin "dots" the program with five takes of "Quarantine" open with the line "I break/broke quarantine for you, my dear/sweet/love"––no version is over 1:13 and each has a different arrangement.  The last two have quite dark lyrics but subtle yet humorous musical backgrounds ("#3" is my favorite due to the delightful arrangement for three clarinets.  

Ms. Harms' vocal stand out. "Long Beach, In Fog" (on disk 2) is a stunning take on a love song while the swinging "New York City" has the feel of a Broadway shop-stopper.  Pay attention to how Pino plays throughout the album, how he'll shadow the vocal line or the pianist's left hand, how his range on bass clarinet allows him to set the pace or solo with abandon.  There's a chamber music feel to "Normal"; at times, the trio play together, at others, the piano and bass clarinet both play counterpoint (first few times through, the song was reminiscent of a Stephen Sondheim piece although there's also a touch of JS Bach there as well). 

While "Normal" closes Disk One, Two closes with two splendid pieces.  First is the ruminative "Forgiveness", an elegy for lost love while "Another Birthday" is a melodic rant against about getting old. Yet dig the delightful solos from piano and clarinet and the playful vocal.  Over all, "Songs of Rebirth" is an impressive program not for the trio's technical prowess but for how they present each song, each one a story, each one told with wit, with emotion and intelligence.  Don't shy away because there are "art songs"––embrace the musical adventure.  Kudos to Jeremy Siskind, Nancy Harms, and Lucas Pino for stoking the fires of imagination!

For more information, go to https://jeremysiskind.com/. To hear more and to purchase the two-CD or digital set, go to https://outsideinmusic.bandcamp.com/album/songs-of-rebirth. 

Hear "Drinking Song":

Editions for Spring 2022 (Part One)

Keyboard player, composer, and photographer Dave Stapleton originally started Edition Records in 2008 to release his albums (leader of the ensemble Slowly Rolling Camera) and recordings by friends––since 2008, the label has issued albums by Dave Holland, Chris Potter, Lionel Loueke, Gretchen Parlato and Jeff Ballard (among others) while nurturing younger artists such as Fergus McCreadie (see below), Daniel Herskedal, and Laura Jurd.  Since Stapleton is a artist, he does not demand that his roster conform to any particular style and sound; therefore, the label is filled with many different approaches to Creative Music.  

Todd Rosenberg Photography

Trumpeter and composer Marquis Hill is a native of Chicago, IL. Born on the city's South Side in 1987, he started his musical education at a young age playing drums but switched to trumpet in the sixth grade. During college and graduate school, Hill played in jam sessions along Chicago jazz greats Ernest Dawkins, Von Freeman, and Fred Anderson going on to play with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra. He won the Thelonious Monk Trumpet Competition in 2010 which led to a contract with Concord Jazz and the release of "New Gospel" in 2011.

Since then, he's released four more albums and a series of fusion albums on his Black Unlimited Music Group label.  His latest album, "New Gospel Revisited", is his debut in Edition Records and looks back on his debut album, re-recording the record's tunes with a different lineup.  Recorded in December of 2019 at Constellation, a fascinating music venue in his hometown, the 13-track program features Hill along with Walter Smith III (tenor saxophone), James Francies (piano), Joel Ross (vibraphone), Harish Raghavan (acoustic bass), and Kendrick Scott (drums).  Within the first five minutes, one can tell that this band is "on".  Although Hill is the leader and these are his compositions, he is very generous with the solo space. Four of the pieces "stretch out" to over nine minutes yet the cohesiveness of this band, the exciting solos, and the expressive work of the rhythm section keeps one glued to the speakers.

Photo: Orel Chollette

There are moments that the music will remind the listener of classic Blue Note Recordings of the 1960s. There is the feel of Herbie Hancock and Joe Henderson on the title track. Notice the interaction of piano, vibes, bass, and drums on the opening of "Law and Order" and then into the melody––when Hill launches his intense solo, one hears a tinge of Freddie Hubbard. What makes this music timeless is that each musician gives his all, digging deeply into the music, filling a song such as "Autumn" with great emotion.  Francies' piano flashes behind Hill's muted trumpet solo or how both the bassist and drummer create a bouncy rhythm without it being annoying.  Rhagavan's funky bass line leads the band in on "Thump", a delightful slice of jazz blended with soul music.  The soloists build their personal statements off that bass line, especially Ross followed by Francies who gets a bit frisky pushing the rhythm section to play with the tempo.  

Photo: Shervin Lainez

Francies (pictured left) gets the last track, "Farewell", to himself, one of five shorter tracks that spotlights each member of Hill's Blacktet (the leader does not have one). Unlike the other pieces, the wide-ranging piano solo does not lead into another but feels like a summing-up of an album that looks back and looks forward at the same time.  It's a piano take on "Goodbye Fred" from the original album; Francies plays with the melody and his responses result in a rush of notes, double-time, and a playful if a bit unfinished finish.

"New Gospel Revisited" is a sweet recording. Much of the music is clear and articulate, the musicians play with excitement making the music jump out at the listener. This is good music, a second starting point from which Marquis Hill move forward with creativity.

For more information, go to www.marquishill.com.  To hear more and to purchase the album, go to https://marquishill.bandcamp.com/album/new-gospel-revisited. 

Hear "The Thump:

 

Photo: Dave Stapleton

The Glasgow, Scotland-based pianist and composer Fergus McCreadie is 24 years old and has been a force on the the United Kingdom jazz scene since he was in his mid-teens.  He played in the Tommy Smith Jazz Orchestra, the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, has toured and/or recorded with drummer Graham Costello's Strata, singer-songwriter Luca Manning, saxophonist Matt Carmichael's Quartet, and the 11-member Corto.Alto. While studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, the pianist formed a trio in 2016 with bassist David Bowden and drummer Stephen Henderson: they recorded and self-released their first album, "Turas", in 2018. The album received much critical acclaim and a number of awards in Scotland. Besides introducing the rest of the world to an amazing pianist and composer, the Trio was soon signed to Edition Records.   

The Trio's Edition debut, "Cairn", was issued in late January 2021. Perhaps it was because of the ongoing pandemic or that the "vibe"of the music was so positive, the recording garnered scores of positive reviews and, like its predecessor, earned its share of awards.  The influence of the band members' native home, in particular, the woods, mountains, and valleys seeped into the music.  14 months after its release comes "Forest Floor": the trio is intact, the Scottish folk melodies shine through nearly every song, and the emotional content is even deeper and more impressive. That written, the opening "Law Hill" bursts out of the gate like a race horse.  McCreadie's fingers fly over the piano and, as the music moves forward, Henderson is right there with him while Bowden keeps the center throbbing and the foundation solid.  There are moments that are reminiscent of Keith Jarrett's "The Windup"––one hear it the stop-and-start rhythm patterns as well as the powerful forward motion. "Landslide" roils forward on the rollicking left-hand piano figure and the locomotive rhythm created by the drummer. Considering how quickly McCreadie plays, you can hear every note even in the midst of the rhythmic storm.  It's not unlike the clarity that Bruce Hornsby creates on many of his uptempo works.  

What truly stands out are the ballads. Songs such as the title track, the whisper-soft "Morning Moon", or the heartwarming "Glade", are all different yet the music and the performances points to a deep understanding of how three musicians move together as well as in and around each other.  Also, one can feel the love they have for their country's natural beauty, for the waterfalls, the lakes, the mountains, and what it does to a human being who dwells there.  

"Forest Floor" is a delight from start to finish. Fergus McCreadie continues to grow as a composer and the interplay he has created with Stephen Henderson and David Bowden equals that of Jason Moran with Tarus Mateen and Nashheet Waits (the Bandwagon trio). Don;'t believe that the thje Scottish three have appeared in the United States yet but when they do, go check them––they make "living music".  

For more information, go to www.fergusmccreadie.co.uk/.  "Forest Floor" will issued on April 8, 2022. To pre-order the album, go to https://fergusmccreadie.bandcamp.com/album/forest-floor.  While you're there, check out the Trio's first two discs.  

Watch and hear "Law Hill":